I love this. My boys are 14 and 15 now, huge gangly teenagers, and my baby girl is 12. It's been a long time since I held a nursing baby. I miss it, but you take me right back. It doesn't seem that long and I can still feel the suck and pull of a hungry mouth. My 14 year old boy was a 25 pound exclusively breastfed 9 month old. I lost so much weight eating cake and pastries while he sucked down the calories. It's such a miracle what our bodies can do.
Oh my goodness, yes, I remember that desperate need to keep eating! It was all just stripped away. Incredible. Melanie, thank you for sharing your reaction to this poem. I love how you said it's a miracle what our bodies can do. I didn't know how to love my body until I became a mother, and then I was suddenly overwhelmed by the power God gave the female form. In gratitude, I discovered holy self-love. Thank you for reading and responding.
This is stunning, Abigail. Absolutely breathtaking writing. It’s tender and raw, poetic and visceral, and somehow holds both reverence and humor in perfect balance. Thank you for sharing this - it feels like a holy thing.
The line “fifteen pounds of boy built purely with breast milk” had me grinning 😁, while “aches with wonder” and “crimson draped door” brought a lump to my throat. You’ve turned biology into liturgy. Honestly, there are phrases here that could sit in a cathedral and not feel out of place. And that ending? “You slip into slumber as a seal slides into dark waves…” That’s so hauntingly beautiful I had to stop and reread it.
I hope you keep writing more of these. This is the kind of thing that makes strangers weep in grocery store parking lots when they remember it. I mean that in the best possible way. 😂❤️
Joshua, thank you for sitting with this piece and letting it speak to you and for sharing your reaction. I love how you described it as turning "biology into liturgy." That sense of wonder you describe touches me. Marveling at all these details and knowing how very loved we are is what I was going for. Thank you for reading so thoughtfully and blessing me in return.
I love this. My boys are 14 and 15 now, huge gangly teenagers, and my baby girl is 12. It's been a long time since I held a nursing baby. I miss it, but you take me right back. It doesn't seem that long and I can still feel the suck and pull of a hungry mouth. My 14 year old boy was a 25 pound exclusively breastfed 9 month old. I lost so much weight eating cake and pastries while he sucked down the calories. It's such a miracle what our bodies can do.
Oh my goodness, yes, I remember that desperate need to keep eating! It was all just stripped away. Incredible. Melanie, thank you for sharing your reaction to this poem. I love how you said it's a miracle what our bodies can do. I didn't know how to love my body until I became a mother, and then I was suddenly overwhelmed by the power God gave the female form. In gratitude, I discovered holy self-love. Thank you for reading and responding.
This is stunning, Abigail. Absolutely breathtaking writing. It’s tender and raw, poetic and visceral, and somehow holds both reverence and humor in perfect balance. Thank you for sharing this - it feels like a holy thing.
The line “fifteen pounds of boy built purely with breast milk” had me grinning 😁, while “aches with wonder” and “crimson draped door” brought a lump to my throat. You’ve turned biology into liturgy. Honestly, there are phrases here that could sit in a cathedral and not feel out of place. And that ending? “You slip into slumber as a seal slides into dark waves…” That’s so hauntingly beautiful I had to stop and reread it.
I hope you keep writing more of these. This is the kind of thing that makes strangers weep in grocery store parking lots when they remember it. I mean that in the best possible way. 😂❤️
Joshua, thank you for sitting with this piece and letting it speak to you and for sharing your reaction. I love how you described it as turning "biology into liturgy." That sense of wonder you describe touches me. Marveling at all these details and knowing how very loved we are is what I was going for. Thank you for reading so thoughtfully and blessing me in return.